A (very) short introduction to the English language for Italian speakers Some general difficulties - Pronunciation: sounds and stress - Spelling - Premodification (esp. compound nouns) - Word order - Use of articles - Countable/uncountable nouns - Verbs: use of tenses; phrasal verbs Week 1
Some specific difficulties of legal English - Odd habits Peculiar wording and phrases, sparse punctuation, foreign phrases, unusual pronouns, semi-archaic formulations - Terminology and jargon Polysemy, e.g., distress , consideration , construction , furnish
Pronunciation - it is a nightmare! - The vowel system of English is more complex: Italians do not differentiate between some vowels e.g. word - war sit - seat; ship - sheep put – cut; bush - flush - Some consonant sounds must also be differentiated e.g. race vs raise advice vs advise precedent vs president - Over-emphasis on word endings e.g. I am Italian > I aM ItaliaN What would you like to drink? > WhaT woulD you liKe to drinK?
Pronunciation Stress in longer words Be particularly careful with words that have more than two syllables: make sure you get the stressed syllable right. agriculture / ˈ æ ɡ r ɪˌ k ʌ lt ʃə (r)/ comfortable / ˈ k ʌ mft ə b( ə )l/ contribute /k ə n ˈ tr ɪ bju ː t/ exhausted / ɪɡˈ z ɔː st ɪ d/ vegetable / ˈ ved ʒ t ə b( ə )l/
Inconsistencies between spelling and pronunciation Some words that have similar spelling are pronounced differently. Examples: tough, though, thought, through, wage, wax, water Other words that have different spelling are pronounced the same: sun, son (as in cut and run )
Quick Test 1 Find the pair of words which rhyme: ´ sweet eat worse horse later latter blood food ´ low go quite diet
Quick Test 2 Pronounce these words; availability distribute management performance police
NOUN + NOUN Nouns can be put together in three ways: 1. Noun + Noun: a war film; a computer shop 2. Preposition structure: the top of the hill 3. Possessive structure: Jim ’ s idea; my boss ’ s office
Premodification There are 4 major types of premodification in English: • general adjective : a big pillow , official negotiations • ed -participial modifier : established traditions , improved growth • ing -participial modifier : growing problem , exhausting task • noun : staff room , maturation period , company management NOUN + NOUN sequences: - the premodifying noun is usually in the singular - much used in newspaper language and academic prose because they condense information - can be extended e.g. New York Police > New York Police Department > New York Police Department scandal
Meaning relationships expressed by noun sequences Composition e.g. glass windows (= windows made of glass) tomato sauce , water supplies Purpose e.g. pencil case (= case used for pencils) brandy bottle , search procedure Identity e.g. men workers (=workers who are men) member country Content e.g. algebra text (=a text about algebra) market report , credit agreement
Meaning relationships expressed by noun sequences (cont.d) Objective (process / action) e.g. egg production , waste disposal, taxi driver Time e.g. summer conditions , Sunday school But what about riot police ? Location e.g. Paris conference , tunnel trains Partitive (X is a part of Y) e.g. cat legs , familiy member Specialization e.g. finance director , Education Secretary , football fans , management consultant
Frequent premodifying nouns affair argument action background agencies car approval government + family + company bonds doctor control enterteinment decision friend Some premodifying nouns are plural. Typical examples: arms race / scandal / treaty sales force / tax drugs administration / business / companies Esp. BrE jobs market / crisis
When is a ‘ noun + noun ’ structure used? • For well-known, usual combinations; for things that do not often go together, ‘ noun + preposition ’ is used a war film a film about thives a history book a book about violins a postman a man from the bank road signs signs of anger a corner table the girl in the corner
Which of these can be expressed by ‘ noun + noun ’ ? the door to the kitchen a child in the garden a box for matches chairs for the garden a man with a knife a bottle designed for wine
‘ noun + noun ’ vs possessive ’ s • ‘ noun + noun ’ used for common kinds of things • possessive ’ s used for something that belongs to a person, group, organization, country, animal Compare: a shoe shop Jim ’ s old car
Choose the correct noun group a bus ’ s station / a bus station China ’ s history / the China history a horse ’ s race / a horse race the paper ’ s editor / the paper editor phone’s number / phone number
ADJECTIVES + NOUNS Nouns can be modified with compound adjectives: a small-scale experiment adverb-adjective combinations: a potentially irreversible decline and coordinated adjectives: strict and systematic procedures
Focus on compound adjectives ADJECTIVE + PAST/PRESENT PARTICIPLE + HEAD NOUN best-selling book, longest-serving senator ADJECTIVE + NOUN / PAST/PRESENT PARTICIPLE + HEAD NOUN free-market economy, right-wing politicians, performance-led pay, English-speaking people PAST PARTICIPLE + HEAD NOUN screened-off entrance
Identify the pre-modified nouns Cameroon palm oil campaigner arrested in crackdown on activists Nasako Besingi has been jailed after opposing a US-funded palm-oil plantation and supporters say this is linked to Cameroon’s ‘anglophone crisis’ A prominent campaigner against palm oil plantations has been arrested amid a growing crackdown on environmental and human rights activists in Cameroon, according to local lawyers and NGOs. Nasako Besingi, who has led opposition to a US-funded 73,000 hectare farm in a biodiverse rainforest, is among more than 100 individuals who have been detained during an escalation of tension between the predominantly French-speaking authorities and the country’s large English-speaking minority.
Identify the pre-modified nouns Cameroon palm oil campaigner arrested in crackdown on activists Nasako Besingi has been jailed after opposing a US-funded palm-oil plantation and supporters say this is linked to Cameroon’s ‘anglophone crisis’ A prominent campaigner against palm oil plantations has been arrested amid a growing crackdown on environmental and human rights activists in Cameroon, according to local lawyers and NGOs. Nasako Besingi, who has led opposition to a US-funded 73,000 hectare farm in a biodiverse rainforest, is among more than 100 individuals who have been detained during an escalation of tension between the predominantly French-speaking authorities and the country’s large English-speaking minority.
COMPOUND NOUNS Explain the meaning of the following 1.an oil tanker 2.the oil industry 3.an oil heater 4.an oil can 5.oil pollution
What ’ s the difference? 1. a pipeline 1. a line of pipes 2. an ink bottle 2. a bottle of ink 3. a book 3. a collection of collection books 4. a cornfield 4. a field of corn 5. a pencil case 5. a case of pencils
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